(3 minutes read)
- More than 5,000 demonstrators held a show of support recently throughout Tunisia in support of President Kais Saied
- His efforts to grab power has stirred controversy among another section of people. Incidentally, Tunisia is the birth place of in of the Arab Spring
- Those who oppose Saied also held demonstrations a few days ago
- But political watchers observe that their numbers were lesser than that of those who support the present dispensation.
More than 5,000 demonstrators held a show of support recently throughout Tunisia in support of President Kais Saied. His efforts to grab power has stirred controversy among another section of people. Incidentally, Tunisia is the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Those who oppose Saied also held demonstrations a few days ago. But political watchers observe that their numbers were lesser than that of those who support the present dispensation.
On July 25, Saied sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers. This had led to a situation of power concentrating with the president, who ruled the roost through presidential decrees. a move being opposed by many.
Saied was elected on an anti-system ticket in late 2019. He sought the people’s mandate for saving Tunisia from “imminent peril” and a socio-economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who took part in the demonstrations were chanting the need for revising the constitution. On the other hand, the rival factions, who held demonstrations a few days ago, shouted that the president should demit office since he turned out to be an autocratic ruler disregarding the wishes of the people.
